1. Technical Field.
The present invention relates generally to the field of shelters, and more specifically to a method and apparatus for an outdoor, aboveground, relatively inexpensive to construct shelter for protection from severe weather.
2. Prior Art.
Unsafe weather or natural climatic forces can strike without adequate warning causing property damage and placing human life in grave danger. These natural climatic forces often demolish homes and buildings. When humans remain indoors during such natural catastrophic events, they are in further danger from falling debris and from the possible collapse of the surrounding structures. For this reason, it is often advisable that persons evacuate their home or building or that persons remain in secured locations, such as basements. However, many homes lack basements, and people are often without safe shelter during these events.
Protective shelters have been recognized and utilized to protect humans from catastrophic weather, such as thunderstorms, hurricanes, and tornadoes. Not unexpectedly, such shelters have evolved and the prior art discloses an array of such shelters.
U.S. Pat. No. RE 26121 to Jackson discloses a type of building construction that incorporates means for resisting sudden shocks and for minimizing injury to occupants should the building collapse. The building has outwardly tilted walls, so that if the building collapses, the walls will fall outwardly away from the occupants. This building is a tethered permanent structure and only tangentially is a weather shelter.
U.S. Pat. No. 356,975 to Moss discloses a prefabricated shelter that has wall panels bowed and secured together in a dome-like structure. The multiple wall panels provide flexible joints, and allow ease of construction. Moss ""975 is not a unitary structure and does not have a weighted slab base for optimal stability of the weather shelter.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,625,468 to Hampel discloses a double-wall tent structure quickly erectable over a central bench or hole. The tent structure includes tightly woven, rip-resistant fabric panels supported by tensile rods or wands, a tub floor extending into and lining a central trench or hole, and an exterior, light-reflecting, metalized, semi-transparent disposable membrane. The bottom circumferential edge of the outer membrane extends into a shallow trench or ditch, excavated around the perimeter of the inner tent structure. This is a lightweight tent structure likely incapable of withstanding a tornado or hurricane and thus not likely to protect humans from catastrophic weather.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,671,568 to Armanno discloses a hurricane shelter generally comprising a dome shaped cover, a cylindrically shaped base wall, and a central column. In its lower position, the dome rests on the base wall and provides shelter in an internal safe space for use in times of emergency, while the central column enables the dome to be raised and locked in its upper position well above the base wall to provide access to the safe space. The base wall forms a circle in plan view, matching in size the diameter of the lower portion of the dome that rests on this wall. The circular base and the dome shaped cover provide low resistance to the winds and to provide the strength to resist the force of hurricane winds, the base wall is connected to a foundation that is typically located on or below ground level. The foundation usually is constructed of heavy material such as concrete, and if desired, even greater strength and weight can be added by including a footing for the foundation. This structure is somewhat complex and is not likely to be manufactured in an inexpensive fashion. Moreover, the structure lacks an entrance doorway and thereby forces the user to raise the dome-like structure prior to entrance. The base is stabilized by adding additional weight on the base, which can further increase cost.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,131,343 to Jackson discloses an apparatus and method for a storm shelter that can be used aboveground and belowground, and may be skin supported. Jackson ""343 discloses that its top, front, and rear surfaces can be made from a single, curved piece of material, and, that its sides are made from two straight pieces of material, all of which pieces are mounted onto parallel curved fine members which are mounted onto a base frame that is anchored to a foundation. This shelter preferably is a corrugated metal skin attached to a foundation. Importantly, this structure is not dome-like to withstand strong winds and does not disclose a stabilized, secured base.
While the prior proceeds to disclose an array of weather shelters, what is needed but not found in the prior art is a weather shelter that can withstand catastrophic weather and can be manufactured a flexible, inexpensive manner.
The present invention relates generally to the field of shelters, and more specifically to a method and apparatus for an outdoor, aboveground shelter for protection from destructive weather that is relatively inexpensive to construct at a site, or to construct at a central manufacturing facility and to transport to a site. The weather shelter in one embodiment comprises a dome, a base, tie-bars, tie-down rods, and attachment means, wherein the base is secured to the earth using the tie-bars and tie-down rods and the dome-like structure is secured to the base using the attachment means.
The dome is a relatively lightweight and strong partial sphere having a hinged door allowing passage therethrough. The base is a relatively heavyweight and strong disc. The tie-bars are relatively high strength structures, such as steel bars or steel cables. The tie-down rods are relative high strength stakes, such as those used to stabilize utility poles. Attachment means can be any means for securely attaching the dome to the base, such as spikes, bolts, hooks, screws, and the like.
The base either can be prefabricated at a central manufacturing facility and transported to the final site on a flatbed truck, or can be manufactured at the final site. For example, for a concrete slab base, the base either can be poured and set a central manufacturing facility or poured on site. For bases with integral tie-bars, the dome and tie-downs are manufactured off-site or purchased, and transported to the final site. For bases without integral tie-bars, the dome, tie-bars, and tie-downs are manufactured off-site or purchased, and transported to the final site. At the final site, the base is poured or placed on a generally level surface (it may be necessary to level the surface prior to installation) and secured to the ground by inserting the tie-downs through peripheral holes in the tie-bars and staking the tie-downs into the ground, preferably at 45xc2x0 degree angles relative to the vertical axis of the base.
The dome is attached to the base using the attachment means. The base can be manufactured with peripheral holes extending into and toward the center of the base, with or without peripheral nuts secured within the peripheral holes. Alternatively, the base can be manufactured with screw-threaded rods extending radially and horizontally outward from the circumference of the base a short distances. Alternatively, high strength hooks or eyes can be manufactured into the circumference of the base. The dome comprises attachment holes spaced along the lower end, and proximal to the lower edge, of the dome, so that the attachment holes cooperate with the attachment means.
On-site, the dome is placed over the base and the attachment holes lined up with the attachment means. If the base has peripheral holes as attachment means, spikes are inserted through the attachment holes into the attachment means. If the base has peripheral nuts secured within peripheral holes as the attachment means, bolts are inserted through the attachment holes and into the peripheral holes where the bolts are then screwed into the nuts. If the base has outwardly extending screw-threaded rods as the attachment means, the screw-threaded rods are inserted through and extend outwardly through the attachment holes, and a nut is screwed over the outside end of the screw-threaded rods. If hooks are used as the attachment means, the hooks are hooked through the attachment holes.
One enters and exits the shelter through a doorway, closed by a door. The door has hinges to attach the door to the shelter, creating a doorway. The door is reversibly closable to the dome by a sealant material such as, for example, a Velcro(copyright) hook and loop type of fastener, a zipper or zippers, snaps, hooks and eyes, or the like. A handle allows the user to open and close the door. The use of a Velcro(copyright) hook and loop type of fastener allows air to enter and exit the shelter for breathing, and also allows the pressure inside of the shelter to equalize to the pressure outside of shelter.
Therefore it is an object of the present invention is to provide a simple to manufacture, easy to use shelter.
It is another object of the present invention is to provide a weather shelter that can provide means to protect persons and property from the elements of weather.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a weather shelter that can be used for a short duration.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a weather shelter that can be easily and relatively cheaply manufactured on site.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a prefabricated weather shelter kit whose components are manufactured at a central site and then transported to a desired site where the components are pieced together to form the finished shelter.
It is another object of the present invention is to provide a weather shelter that is a partial dome securely anchored to a base that is directly or indirectly secured to the earth.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a reclosable pressure-equalizing opening on the dome of the weather shelter for relatively easy entrance into the shelter.
These objects, and other object, features and advantages of the present method, will become more apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art when the following detailed description of the preferred embodiments is read in conjunction with the appended figures, in which like reference numerals represent like components throughout the various figures.